by J.M. Landon

This week we have a review of She Left by Stacie Grey, along with an interesting interview with Stacie aka Daisy Bateman. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase the book from Amazon.

She Left by Stacie Grey
Reviewed by J.M. Landon

She Left is a locked room mystery, with a limited number of characters that the reader gets to know intimately. In a special nod to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, the characters are invited to a remote location by a well-known journalist who wants to interview each of them about a mass murder that happened 20 years ago. Upon arrival, they don’t find a journalist, they find the crazed mother of the young man that confessed to the crime of setting off a bomb then knifing survivors. In addition, all the guests were on intimate terms or related to one of those victims. The exception is Amy Theresa Brewer, who was at the scene that night, but left the party before the bomb went off.

Determined to find the real person responsible for the crimes, the mother tricks them into giving up their phones and car keys, trapping them all. This is a masterful thriller/whodunit that will keep you as captivated as the characters are in this remote mansion. Can they solve a crime that is 20 years old? Can you?

Various chapters are from the different characters’ point of view, so you get to know each of them as well as what grudges they harbor. Then bodies start appearing. At first, they look like suicide, but no one believes there would be three suicides within such a small group? A killer is among them, but who? And is the killer the same deranged person responsible for deaths two decades ago?

In true Christie fashion, clues and red herrings are sprinkled throughout, keeping the reader guessing up until the end. Stacie Grey is also known as Daisy Bateman, under that name she writes the Marketplace Mysteries.

J.M. Landon is retired and blissfully at work on the ‘great American novel.’ She’s worn many hats through her career including: wife, mother, piano teacher, middle school teacher, university professor, painter, jewelry maker, and dragon tamer. She has eight published short stories.

Interview with Stacie Grey:

KRL: How long have you been writing?

Stacie: Since forever, really – there’s a hardcover “book” I produced in grade school sitting in my living room right now. But more seriously, I started working on my first mystery novel in college, writing longhand in a three-ring binder while sitting on the lawn outside of the faculty club.

KRL: When did your first novel come out, what was it called, and would you tell us a little about it?

Stacie: My first novel came out, of all times, in 2020. So that was interesting! It was called Murder Goes To Market, written under my real name, Daisy Bateman. It’s a cozy mystery set in an artisan foods marketplace on the Northern California coast.

KRL: Have you always written mysteries/suspense and if not, what else have you written?

Stacie Grey aka Daisy Bateman

Stacie: I’ve pretty much always written mysteries, though I did take a detour into horror at one point with a book about giant underground squid attacking a small mountain town. Sadly, it remains unpublished.

KRL: What brought you to choose the setting and characters in your latest book/series?

Stacie: Actually, the setting isn’t very far from the squid book, in the foothills of the Sierra mountains. I chose that setting (in this case) because I wanted somewhere remote and atmospheric for my characters to be trapped–an island book without the island. The characters, aside from the protagonist, are drawn mostly from the story–each of them has a connection to the crime that begins the book, and each has secrets, big and small, that they’re not sharing–in some cases until it’s too late.

KRL: Do you have a schedule for your writing or just work whenever you can?

Stacie: I work full-time, so my writing schedule is dictated by when I have the time, and energy, outside of my job. My best writing time actually comes on my commute – I take the ferry from Alameda to South San Francisco, which gives me a block of about forty minutes to work on each end of the day.

KRL: Did you find it difficult to get published in the beginning?

Stacie: I think you could say that! I mentioned that I wrote my first book in college, and let’s just say I’m not a recent graduate. In fact, it was the fourth book I wrote – the one after the squid one- that got me to sign with my agent, and the one after that was my first one published. This is not a business for the faint of heart!

KRL: What are your future writing goals?

Stacie: To be able to keep doing it! I’m very lucky to have made it as far as I have, and my only hope is that people enjoy the books enough that they want to see more.

KRL: What do you like to read?

Stacie: Mysteries and thrillers, of course. I love the golden age of Christie, Sayers, Marsh, et al, but I’m also very excited about the new books that are being written now. I also enjoy fantasy and sci-fi, and recently I’ve been getting more into horror.

KRL: Have you any advice for aspiring or beginning writers?

Stacie: This business requires a strange mixture of self-confidence and humility. You’ll never make it if you think everything you write is untouchably brilliant, but you’re equally doomed to failure if you give into the feeling that you’ll never be good enough. You need to believe, not that you are great, but that you can be.

KRL: What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

Stacie: I grew up in a geodesic dome, and I play the harp, but not very well.

KRL: Do you have any pets?

Stacie: Yes! A labradoodle named Zaphod. I did mention liking science fiction!

KRL: Website? Twitter? Facebook? Instagram?

Stacie: staciegrey.com
threads.net/@staciegreyauthor
instagram.com/staciegreyauthor/

You can click here to purchase this book.

To enter to win a copy of She Left, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “left” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen May 25, 2024. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.